Earth & Planetary Sciences: The origin, classification, diagenesis and economic importance of sedimentary rocks. The physical properties of sedimentary rocks, the processes by which sediments are transported and deposited, and the environments in which they accumulate. Introduction to techniques for describing and analyzing sedimentary rocks in thin section, hand specimen, and on the outcrop.

Earth & Planetary Sciences: Advanced techniques for interrogating the stratigraphic record. Topics include cyclicity in the sedimentary record, sequence stratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, sedimentary control on the fossil record, and the record of deep sea sediment cores.

Research

I integrate sedimentology, stratigraphy, and isotope geochemistry to reconstruct ancient environments within the context of secular and progressive tectonic, biospheric, and climatic evolution of the earth. The underlying theme of my research is to reconstruct paleoenvironmental change spanning from the late Proterozoic to the early Phanerozoic (~ 1200 to 500 ma) and to understand the interconnections between tectonics (i.e., supercontinental break-up and assembly), seawater chemistry and ocean redox, severe climatic fluctuations (including snowball Earth), and the origin and diversification of animals. This research is fundamentally field-based and geared around detailed geological studies of sedimentary basins that formed during this time.